There has traditionally been a need for systems and methods which allow a user to make extremely precise position determinations. In fact, a number of attempts have been made at developing these kinds of systems and methods. However, they all suffer from serious problems which render them unfeasible or inaccurate.
This is particularly true in the case of aircraft landing systems and methods. The current system, the Instrument Landing System (ILS), was developed decades ago and is very expensive to install and maintain.
A proposed alternative to ILS is the Microwave Landing System (MLS). It however is also expensive to install and maintain.
Other proposed alternatives are based on the Global Positioning System (GPS). GPS involves a constellation of 24 satellites placed in orbit about the earth by the United States Department of Defense. Each satellite continuously broadcasts a GPS signal. This GPS signal contains an L-band carrier component (L1) transmitted at a frequency of 1.575 GHz. The L1 carrier component is modulated by a coarse acquisition (C/A) pseudo random (PRN) code component and a data component.
The PRN code provides timing information for determining when the GPS signal was broadcast. The data component provides information such as the satellite's orbital position. The carrier component allows a receiver to easily acquire the GPS signal.
Position determination using Conventional GPS is well known in the art. In Conventional GPS, a receiver makes ranging measurements between an antenna coupled to the receiver and each of at least four GPS satellites in view. The receiver makes these measurements from the timing information and the satellite orbital position information obtained from the PRN code and data components of each GPS signal received. By receiving four different GPS signals, the receiver can make fairly accurate position determinations.
However, Conventional GPS only allows a user to determine his actual location to within tens of meters. In applications such as aircraft landings, position accuracies of one foot must be achieved. Therefore, conventional GPS is not suitable for these applications.
A more accurate version of GPS is Ordinary Differential GPS. Position determination using Ordinary Differential GPS is also well known in the art. It involves the same kind of ranging measurements as are made with Conventional GPS, except that a ground reference receiver at a precisely known location is utilized. Ideally, satellite ranging errors will affect the position determinations made by the user's receiver in the same way as they will the position determinations made by the nearby ground receiver. Since the location of the ground receiver is already known, the ground receiver can compare the position determination it has calculated with the actual known position. As a result, the ground receiver can accurately detect ranging errors.
From these errors, the ground receiver can compute suitable corrections which are transmitted by data link to the user's receiver. The user's receiver can then apply the corrections to its own ranging measurements so as to provide accurate real time position determinations.
Also, a pseudolite (i.e. ground based pseudo satellite) can be used to transmit these error corrections along with an unassigned PRN code. The unassigned PRN code enables the user's receiver to make a redundant fifth ranging measurement for even greater precision. And, in some cases, it enables the user's receiver to make a necessary fourth ranging measurement where one of the other GPS signals has been lost.
However, even with Ordinary Differential GPS, the position determinations are only accurate to within several meters. Since, as indicated earlier, aircraft landing systems must be accurate to within a foot, Ordinary Differential GPS by itself is not suitable for such an application.
An extremely accurate form of GPS is Carrier Phase Differential GPS. This form of GPS utilizes the 1.575 GHz carrier component of the GPS signal on which the PRN code and the data component are superimposed.
Carrier Phase Differential GPS involves generating position determinations based on the measured phase differences at two different antennas for the carrier component of a GPS signal. However, this technique initially requires determining how many integer wavelengths of the carrier component exist between the two antennas at a particular point in time. This is called integer ambiguity resolution.
A number of approaches currently exist for integer ambiguity resolution. However, all of them suffer from serious problems which render them unfit for precise position determinations in applications such as a aircraft landing.
One approach is Integer Searching using redundant measurements. This involves receiving more than the standard four GPS signals in order to sort out the correct combination of integer ambiguities. The different combinations of integer candidates are systematically checked against a cost function until an estimated correct set is found. However, for antenna separations of just a few meters, the checked combinations can number in the hundreds of millions. As a result, this approach has a propensity to arrive at wrong solutions. Furthermore, the configuration of the constellation of GPS satellites can only guarantee that four satellites will be in view at any given time. Therefore, any application requiring precise position determinations at any given time must not rely on redundant satellites for reliable resolution of the integer ambiguities.
Another approach is Narrow Correlator Spacing. This technique involves using the PRN code of the GPS signal to bound the integer ambiguities. However, a significant amount of the time it can yield position determination errors of as much as several meters. This does not provide the kind of consistency which is required in aircraft landing applications.
Still another approach is Dual Frequency Wide-Laning. This approach also utilizes a second GPS signal broadcast by each satellite. This second GPS signal has an L-band carrier component (L2) transmitted at a frequency of 1.227 GHz. The L2 carrier component and the L1 carrier component are differenced so as to form a signal having an effective wavelength that is much longer than either of the two carrier components. From this signal, it is relatively easy to resolve the integer ambiguities. However, the L2 component is not available for civilian use. Although the denial of the second carrier component can be countermeasured with cross correlation technology, the performance of this type of technology is unproven and very expensive to implement.
One successful approach to integer ambiguity resolution is motion-based and has been utilized in static surveying applications. This approach involves taking a number of phase measurements while the user's antenna and the reference antenna are stationary. These phase measurements are made over a period of about 15 minutes. The phase measurements made during the slowly changing geometry of the GPS satellites will reveal the integer ambiguities. But, in many situations in which precise position determinations are required, such as aircraft landing, it would be impractical to require the user's antenna to remain stationary for 15 minutes while the integer ambiguities are resolved.
Another motion-based approach has been used for aircraft attitude determination. It involves placing an antenna on the tail, on the fuselage, and on each wing tip. The antenna on the fuselage serves as the reference antenna. The integer ambiguities can be resolved in seconds by rotating the aircraft and taking several phase measurements. Taking the phase measurements during this rapid change in geometry with respect to the slowly changing GPS satellite geometry will reveal the integer ambiguities. However, since the reference antenna and the other antennas are fixed to the aircraft, this approach is limited to attitude determinations and is not suitable for precise position determinations for the aircraft itself.